For the unfamiliar, a while ago the old KTM railway was shut down, the tracks were removed, and the public was allowed to use this 25 kilometre track. There is lots of mountain biking, running, jogging, dog-walking, nature walks and photography going on there these days.
To make it easier for people to access and use the Green Corridor I created the
Singapore Green Corridor User Guide in Google Maps.
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| The User Guide, with notes |
It's been a while since my last visit, so on Friday 24 October 2014 I returned for a ride on my mountain bike to see if anything has changed, and to see if I needed to update the guide.
I was also motivated to get back there because recently it was announced that construction work will take place from 2016 to 2019 in order to install a new trunk water pipeline. This will effect the southern section of the Green Corridor south of Holland Road. Before that starts I'd like to enjoy cycling and running on the trail as much as possible.
So back to yesterday.
I did make some new discoveries and I updated the guide.
Here's how the day went and what I discovered:
The day started with a look at the weather, and it looked good!
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| Thanks to the NEA for the rain area map! |
So without delay I got the bike on the car and headed for the HDB carpark on Silat Road near Block 144.
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| The Scott Scale80 ready to go! |
There were fewer of the old HDB buildings in the Silat Road area, some have been demolished where now a grassy area welcomed me, and I easily made my way onto the Green Corridor.
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| Southern end of Green Corridor looking East |
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| Southern end of Green Corridor looking West |
Following the trail, happy to see no fallen trees blocking the way and less mud than usual, I headed North. The trail was in the best condition I've ever experienced. Then an ominous sight appeared!
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| Works to improve drain system |
At first it looked bad, but as I got closer my concern disappeared as there was a very good diversion path around the construction, so no worries mate!
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| South of Hillview Road, across from the Rail Mall, Upper Bukit Temah Road. |
Yeah, so I just hammered my way up to Hillview Road, enjoying the great condition of the trail. Then it was coffee time!
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| Cheeky bird at Cedele |
A large flat white and what I would call a bear claw pastry, what Cedele cafe calls a vanilla Danish. Those crumbs were consumed by my feathered friend.
Turns out the bird was a bit of a gadget snob...
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| Unimpressed bird |
Hey, I love the Edge 500! Anyway, time to head south, and my plan was to take it easy and take more photos. From Rail Mall it seems like it is a slight downhill, so I could not fight the urge to push it a bit anyway. I think the coffee was an influence.
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| Another angle of the construction works, as seen from under Commonwealth Avenue |
The next 12 shots are from the Street Art gallery under Commonwealth Avenue - a refreshingly colourful site:
So back on the bike and zoomed south, where I soon was back at the trail's most southern point.
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| My Scott Scale80 leaning on the fence at trail's end |
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| Another look northward from the end of the trail |
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| The wild flowers thriving on the Green Corridor |
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| More wildflowers, the trail on the left |
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| Seriously the end of the trail |
On my way back to Silat I checked if there were any other good access points down there.
I saw some workmen repairing a fence, so it looks like an old access point from the HDBs on Spooner Road will no longer be an option...
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| Access point blocked at BLK 01 Spooner Road |
On the bright side, this access point leading to Kampong Bahru Road is a good option, as an entrance or exit:
From a distance it looks steep, but as it bends to the right the gradient is not bad at all. The guide has been updated to reflect these developments, here is how it looks when you zoom in:
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| Screenshot: Singapore Green Corridor User Guide |
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| Bike in need of a wash |
So back at the Silat HDB carpark, a sense of mission accomplished prevailed.
Checking the statistics, mud not much of an issue as confirmed by the mud-o-metre:
Back home I washed the bike, uploaded the Garmin data, processed the photos, and eventually wrote this.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Additional references:
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